Bardonecchia: Ski area guide

Turin’s own ski resort

Bardonecchia can claim something no other Italian ski resort can: you can get there easily by train from a major city. From Torino Porta Susa, the Fréjus railway runs up the Susa Valley, enters the Fréjus tunnel and comes out at Bardonecchia after about an hour and a half.

No car, no queues, no parking: you leave the city with your skis on your shoulder and arrive a short walk from the lifts. That has made Bardonecchia an unusually democratic resort, open not only to people with a car but to anyone who can read a train timetable. For many people from Turin, especially younger generations, Bardonecchia was their first snow, their first run, their first day on skis.

Two ski areas, two characters

The resort is split into two separate areas with quite different personalities.

Jafferau. The northern side, rising to 2,800 metres, is the place for dry snow and technical skiing. It faces north, gets plenty of snowfall and keeps it for a long time because it sees little sun. Its red and black runs attract experienced skiers who value the snow quality and the relative quiet.

Colomion-Les Arnauds. On the other side of the valley, this is the main and larger area, with runs for every level. On busy days it takes most of the skiers.

The two areas are not linked by lifts up the mountain: you move between them through the town. The upside is that you can choose each morning what kind of day you want.

The Turin 2006 Winter Olympics

Bardonecchia wrote an important page in Italian Olympic history when it hosted the snowboard events of the XX Winter Olympics in Turin in 2006. The halfpipe and the parallel giant slalom were held on the Melezet slopes, which were fitted out with world-class facilities for the occasion.

The Olympic legacy is still visible. The athletes’ village built for the Games has been converted into accommodation, adding to the number of beds in the resort. The Melezet sports facilities are still used for national youth snowboard competitions. The Olympics gave Bardonecchia international exposure and made it one of Italy’s reference points for freestyle and snowboarding.

Melezet and the story of Italian freestyle

Melezet is more than an Olympic venue: it is one of the birthplaces of Italian snowboarding. In the 1990s, when snowboarders were still looking for space in a ski world that distrusted the new sport, Melezet was among the first ski areas in Piedmont to build dedicated zones and host competitions.

The freestyle scene that grew up around Bardonecchia in the following decades produced athletes and coaches who helped snowboarding take off across Italy. Today the snow park and facilities at Melezet still draw committed riders, who appreciate the carefully shaped features and the setting of the Susa Valley.

Getting there

By train. From Torino Porta Susa, Italian State Railways (FS) run regular trains to Bardonecchia that take about 1 hour 30 minutes. It is the easiest option if you are arriving in Turin or want to avoid the traffic.

By car. The A32 Turin-Fréjus motorway covers the 70 km in about an hour, and the Bardonecchia exit takes you straight into town. On peak-season weekends, queues on the Turin ring road can add time. On those days the train is not just more comfortable but often faster too.